It's been almost a month since the first semester classes ended, and I'm enjoying my precious time in both my territory and my home.
Currently, my shameless family used part of my money on material things and to improve our home. There's nothing wrong with the latter, but the former is an audacity that made me very angry, so I punished them, of course.
I'm forcing them to work harder for the remainder of the month. I'm also worried about Duke Bismarck's response.
He said it would take a few days, but there's less than a week left in the month. I'm afraid he wasn't successful. In case something terrible happens, I have everything ready to escape with my family.
They were very angry and furious when they found out. (I laughed inside when I saw them.) But I laughed even more when they saw a duke's daughter staying in our house for a few days; I noticed the fear on their faces.
"Ah, a good drink after a hard day's work is the best!"
"How can you be so shameless as to say that?"
I was saying that to my older brother, Bram, who gave me a few warm words of his own.
"I certainly haven't been doing anything, but whose fault is it for using money meant exclusively for improving our territory on trivial things?"
"I already told you those were vital expenses for us!"
"Vital expenses?! Are you talking about going to the village to fool around with women?!"
"It's clear you inherited Dad's genes."
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Never mind, just keep working on my beloved flowers."
"Ugh... More importantly, what are you going to do about *that*?"
Bram, who was leaning over, stood up and pointed his nose in a certain direction. There were four people there: two of them were maids watching with panic what one of them was doing, and those were...
"Hmm!! It really is very difficult to dig a hole in the ground without earth magic."
"So it seems, but it will also give you a sense of happiness from cultivating something with your own hands."
"Is that so? I think— Kyaah!! Airi, what is this disgusting thing clinging to my hand?!"
"Hahaha, don't worry, it's just an earthworm."
Alisa and Airi.
After what happened with her ex-fiancé, her father asked me to bring her here to rest. Over time, I think the three of us have become close.
Ever since they arrived, they go wherever I go. I haven't been able to do much observation or research because I've been keeping them occupied and entertained.
That's because I can't let them know about Ixion and the ancient technology.
But I'm not complaining, as I also enjoyed their company very much.
As someone who had almost no friends or female companionship, this makes me very happy. The only inconvenience is that from time to time my family asks me not to dare lay a finger on Alisa, and even her maids, for some reason, watch over me when we're exploring the island.
I suddenly heard footsteps, turned to look, and it was my cute, angelic little sister, Pola-chan, bringing a jug of ice-cold water for my brother.
Bram approached and gladly drank, not a glass, but the whole jug. Both Pola and I were surprised. (Was this guy that thirsty?)
While watching my brother, the bottomless barrel, my sweet little sister called out to me.
"Hey, onii-chan."
"Hmm, what's up?"
Then, with her small, innocent finger, she pointed toward the girls.
"Onii-chan, which one is your girlfriend?"
In that instant, both Bram and I spat in each other's face. It was disgusting.
*Cough*
"W-what are you talking about?! It's impossible for someone like me to have either of those two as a partner!"
A look of curiosity and mystery appeared on her little face as she tilted her head to the side.
(You don't understand? Fine, I'll explain it in a simple way.)
I pointed with my finger. Bram noticed and tried to block me, but I pushed him.
"The pretty girl in simple clothes is a commoner. I could take her as a partner, but according to the laws of our country, she would be treated as a mistress. So, if we had children, they would be treated as commoners and couldn't inherit our surname."
Her face made a big "Oh!"
"On the other hand, the girl in the elegant dress who's all dirty right now, and who would give our mother a heart attack..."
Once again, Bram tried to cover my mouth, and I kicked him.
"...is a young lady. Unlike us nobles and country folk, she must marry someone of higher status or up to two ranks below hers. That, and our second names are different. The 'van' and 'von' are like a mangy cat and an elegant cat."
That's how it is. I can only try to go for a partner who is of a higher rank and have only one wife. If I were a viscount, I could have two wives. If I were an earl, two along with one concubine. The same +1 formula applies if I were a margrave.
On the other hand, counts can have three wives and several concubines, and the number of wives increases further for dukes and the king. The latter is another thing I don't want to talk about.
I looked back at my little sister to see if she understood, but her words hurt me deeply.
"But onii-chan, in your room I found a magazine of girls with very big breasts, and they have them too, they're very big. I thought one of them was your—"
To stop her from talking further, I covered her mouth and started humming like crazy.
The people around me gave me looks of pity, thinking I might have gone crazy.
In the distance, after a while, I spotted a galleon. It had the Bismarck family crest all over the front.
◇◇◇
A large ship had come to pick up Alisa and company. It hurt a little to say goodbye to them so soon, however, a messenger from the duke had also come on the ship. That meant only one thing.
My dad was alone talking to him; it seemed to be something the head of the family should hear. After a short time, I heard a shout. The voice was my father's.
I couldn't go in, but I was scared to know what they had told him. A few seconds after the shout, the same man who came here the first time was here again.
I greeted him politely, and he returned the greeting. I tried to ask him, but he beat me to it.
In a calm tone and without ill intent, he said:
"You have nothing to worry about, young man. The king hasn't punished you or anything. I gave your father the letter containing the current, safe situation regarding you."
I thanked him, but I was uneasy about why my father had screamed if everything was okay.
When I entered after knocking several times without an answer, I found my father lying on the floor with foam at his mouth, his eyes rolled back, and a letter in his left hand.
I ran over to see if everything was okay.
"Father, what happened to you?! Are you alright?!"
Then I grabbed the letter; on the back was the palace's mark, and I read its contents.
After a short while, my face gradually contorted, and I too ended up unconscious with foam at my mouth.
A little later, my little sister Pola happened to pass by, and when she saw us, she thought we were playing some game and also lay down on the floor.
After lying down for a bit, she noticed the letter. Her reading level was very high thanks to the books I bought her.
"Err, it says... 'The King of the Kingdom of Altfode is personally pleased to inform that no reprisals will be taken against the family of the Barony of Bradford, nor will Duke Kingsfort do so either. Moreover, the young Baron is thanked for teaching the King's and Duke's sons a lesson in modesty and humility. He shall be rewarded with the title of low-ranking knight'..."
"O-Onii-chan, isn't this incredible?! You're going to be a knight!!"
Still on the floor, I responded in my consciousness.
(It's not incredible!! The king wants to reward me for hitting his son, and the duke also agrees with that?! Impossible!! It's clearly a trap so we don't escape and they can liquidate us!!)
Pola ran off looking for the other family members. I heard a woman's scream. It wasn't Mom, as she was out shopping, and the other male besides us here was... Lyle.
◇◇◇
Some time ago, while Rudel was happily enjoying his time in his territory, a meeting was taking place that lasted for several days without conclusion.
In that meeting, different people were gathered around a large round table.
They were almost all the palace ministers. There were two more people there who weren't ministers but were also involved in the meeting.
One of them was a man of very advanced age, but his face and body showed he had barely entered middle age; his hair was a platinum color that didn't look like gray, his eyes were purple, and he had an average beard of the same color as his hair, with a fine, small mustache under his nose. His clothes were so elegant they made him look like the most important person in the room. His name was... Leonis von Altfode.
At a distance far removed from him was another man who also didn't dress like the others. He was one of the three lords of the kingdom, Duke Franz von Kingsfort. A man of medium build, blond hair combed back, green eyes, no facial hair, and a medium belly like his height.
In the palace, the total number of ministers was seventy-seven, but there were sixty-six present. The guards wondered if there was a war emergency for almost all of them to be present.
One of them spoke. He was a man who seemed to have a toucan's beak for a nose, dead eyes, brown hair with wavy eyebrows, a mustache that looked like a toothbrush, and thick lips like a barracuda's.
"This has taken far too long to reach a simple conclusion. We must punish that family with death. It is the only solution so that the people of the kingdom and enemy countries do not think our country is weak and the royal family is a joke, no offense to His Majesty."
The ministers fell silent at what he said, as it seemed the most logical, but a single man responded to him.
"You certainly sound very enthusiastic about wanting to execute that boy, don't you? Marquess Moldred von Balzac?"
After his name was mentioned, he turned toward the person who said that. He already knew him beforehand, so only words of sarcasm came out of his mouth.
"I am very sorry that my humble opinion bothers you, Duke Bismarck, but we are here to solve a big problem for the country. Perhaps since your daughter was his benefactor, you don't care if the crown prince was injured by someone we still don't know is a spy or a future rebel for our beautiful country."
The ministers began conversing in low voices among themselves after hearing him.
"The Marquess is right."
"I've never heard of a baron's family so far from the country's borders."
"What if they are associated with the Talis Commonwealth? They haven't made any moves for some months, which is very mysterious to us."
Many voices were heard discussing whether to execute or merely punish Rudel.
A silent person raised his hand to speak.
"If I may, gentlemen."
The ministers turned toward the person who hadn't said a single word on the matter. It was the other duke present.
"As I commented from the first day, I am against punishing or executing the Baron. The fault is partly mine for not knowing how to discipline my son properly. He behaved normally at home, but after entering the academy, I never received a single letter from him and assumed he was having too much fun to write. I would scold him for not writing even once when he returned... but it never crossed my mind that this would happen."
The ministers fell silent and listened attentively.
"I support Duke Bismarck in not punishing him, but regarding the prince's matter, I leave it entirely to His Majesty's authority to decide."
After saying that, he sat down like a good boy, and the people beside him spoke to him with pride, but only one person looked at him with a cold, repulsed gaze.
(Damn cunning fox.)
He thought strongly, Siegwald, more things about him.
(Using a flimsy excuse of not having raised your son well, that his behavior at home was normal and maybe someone influenced him badly, and on top of that, passing the decision of whether to punish Baron Bradford for laying hands on his son, the future king, to the king.)
His gaze grew more and more intense.
(You never spoke in the whole meeting, waiting for an opportunity for the marquess to say that too much time has passed. But don't think you can pressure the king.)
A smile formed on Siegwald's face.
"I agree with Duke Kingsfort."
All eyes suddenly widened as they looked at the same person. He noticed two people looking at him with gazes that said, (Why did you open your damn mouth to say that?!) —and he smiled even more.
"The Duke himself is right. He forgives the Baron as it was partly his fault. I also accept part of the responsibility for my daughter. But I believe this matter also requires the participation of the Prime Minister, who is absent due to illness. When he returns, we must decide this and trust the only person who truly advises for the good of the country to the king."
Siegwald's words made several ministers agree with him. Even the king himself agreed.
But in his mind, he had a different answer.
(Is it so hard to tell these old fogies I don't want to punish that kid? My stupid son was partly at fault and deserved that, and the Kingsfort boy was even more to blame. Since childhood, he used to sneak around with Liam to spy in my quarters and used my son as a shield to escape my interrogation.)
(A king must not hit or discipline his own son with his hands... but that kid sometimes provokes me to hit him with my crown so he reacts and gains a bit of common sense.)
The king sighed in his head and closed his eyes for a final relief.
(Please hurry back, Mayer...)
◇◇◇
After being picked up by the Bismarck House ship, Airi was sad after saying goodbye to Rudel, who was crying from the port.
Alisa also found it funny and sad to say goodbye. She asked Airi if she wanted to go back to her home, and she shyly replied that she didn't.
Alisa had the brilliant idea to ask her if she wanted to go to her house for the rest of the vacation. Airi was delighted by that, and so they went directly to her territory.
The two, from the moment they set foot on the ground, did not separate at all. Not for eating, sleeping, or even bathing separately.
It was the first time the maids and servants saw their young lady so spoiled, but for the older staff, that attitude reminded them of when she was a child. They gave her looks of happiness and nostalgia, seeing that their young lady was once again that child who spoke of great things when she had such a tiny body.
Currently, they were riding horses for Airi's practice, as she didn't know how. She asked Alisa a very surprising question.
"Whaat?! Rudel-san will be promoted to knight?!"
Airi was on her horse, galloping a bit clumsily, with Alisa supervising her from behind.
"So it seems. My father told me the meeting took a long time until Prime Minister Ritzburg arrived to end the discussion."
"My father was even surprised by the words that man said. No wonder he is His Majesty the King's right-hand man."
"It's thanks to him, to His Majesty the King, and..."
A slightly sad look formed on Alisa's face, but then it became an even stronger smile.
"...Klein's father. It's thanks to them that Rudel won't be blamed or sanctioned; he might even return to the academy with us."
The horse reared up on its hind legs after a movement Airi made out of happiness upon hearing that Rudel would return to the academy.
They managed to calm the horse, and it returned to its slow but steady pace.
"Yes. He will return to classes starting the day after his knighthood ceremony."
Alisa looked from behind at Airi's blushing cheeks. A feeling of bitterness showed in her smile as she watched Airi unintentionally murmur Rudel's name.
Suddenly, Airi turned around to ask her something.
"Alisa... Why will Rudel-san become a knight if he hit two important sons?"
Faced with Airi's question, Alisa took a moment to explain it in a short and easy-to-understand way.
"I think it's because he showed his determination to do what was right."
Airi let out an adorable "Huh?"
"You see, my father contacted me to say that the King wanted to reward Rudel for teaching his son humility. I couldn't believe it, but that seems to be the situation over there."
The horse was heading to the stables after finishing its route.
"The King said that as punishment for letting himself be carried away by malicious tongues, he punished him by removing his title as heir until further notice."
Again, Airi let out an adorable "Whaaaat?!"
"Just as you hear. Even Duke Kingsfort rejoiced at his punishment and did something similar with Klein. It seems he'll punish him for an entire season, and he won't return to the academy, at least this year."
Once inside the stable, Airi let out another adorable and comical "Whaaaaat?!"
Alisa burst out laughing at her expression.
Then she hugged her from the stomach pain caused by laughter.
(It seems this new semester will be a lot of fun for us.) —she thought as the maids came to see what was wrong.
◇◇◇
One day before the ceremony for the new semester at the academies, the knighthood ceremony was held.
I thought they might try to kill me, but that wasn't the case. I even brought Battler with me.
Since it was just the knighting of a simple country baron, I thought it would be a matter of seconds, but reality was different.
"W-what the hell is this?!"
In the largest chamber, an unimaginable number of people who had come were gathered.
Some were wearing their uniforms, but the rest were people dressed in gallant attire and clothes that only important officials wear.
Rudel was almost crouched in fear in a room after being informed by Ixion.
"Why are there so many people here?!"
"I'm supposed to be just a baron, and it's for the lowest rank of knights. Why did all these people come here?"
In the room where I was waiting, my family was with me.
My parents were looking at themselves in a mirror with the best clothes they bought with my money.
Bram was fixing up Pola nicely, while Lyle...
"Wait. Who the hell are you?!"
The person I addressed looked at me with hatred when I asked.
With narrowed eyes, he spat out his words.
"Are you a damn idiot, or are you trying to be funny?"
"No, I'm serious. Who are you, and where is Lyle?"
After I said that, my sweet little sister backed me up.
"It's true!! I haven't seen Lyle onii-chan for a while."
The mysterious person heard that and shouted in frustration.
"I am Lyle!! Don't you recognize your own older brother?! I just returned my hair to its natural color and got rid of my contact lenses!!"
The next person to sound amazed was my own father, who let out an "Is that true?! I thought you were just a chaperone."
My mother and my other brother gave him a look like, (You don't recognize your own son?) —My sister was amazed at the possibility of hiding his appearance with a change.
Inside, I laughed very hard because now they were arguing. For some reason, this chaotic moment was one of the few I never had with my old family or relatives. It hurt a little, but that person no longer exists in that world.
A few minutes later, someone arrived to inform us it was time. I prepared myself after my family left to find their corresponding seats.
That day, sadly for me, a young knight was born.
◇
A week has passed since classes started. Everything is going extremely well... but there are strange rumors going around.
Starting with me, the rumors are about how I didn't get away with hitting and humiliating two important kids, how I bribed the guards so they wouldn't beat me, and mainly that I blackmailed the King and palace officials, thus obtaining my knight title.
I would be upset if it weren't almost all a lie. I did come out victorious after hitting two idiot kids, and I did pay Alisa's father to be my lawyer and save my rear. The guard thing was manipulation of their sense of smell, so I don't know what to say about that. There are even more rumors with even more ridiculous content.
Well, the rumors are just for me, because thanks to them, now both my class and the other students no longer approach me or speak to me; rather, they fear and avoid me. I don't blame them, but it still hurts.
As for the girls...
Airi has tried to stand out in her class thanks to the tutoring Alisa gave her. Unlike me, she wasn't scared of this girl's innocent but deadly questions. As expected of a young lady.
And speaking of Alisa herself... it would be quicker to say she has been fleeing from the harassers in her new entourage. The previous ones seem to have been erased by her father... It's a good thing that man isn't my enemy, or I couldn't live here anymore.
Her father assigned her a new entourage, but she herself has rejected them all. From time to time, she hides for hours in my room or Airi's. It seems she doesn't want company other than the two of us. It's a bit embarrassing, but it doesn't bother me.
I'm now taking a nap in the academy's central garden. It's free time for everyone, and I'm using my valuable time to do nothing, but how important I am.
I only had one discomfort again, and that was that yesterday, near a corridor, I heard someone. I didn't understand very well what they were saying, as their voice was small, like a child's, but I clearly heard them say my name and something about "ruining the story."
Just for mentioning that, my head has been spinning thinking about it.
Suddenly, two shadows blocked my view. My eyes were closed, so I couldn't see who they were, but I was going to insult them like you wouldn't believe for disturbing my valuable time...
"My goodness~, Rudel-san truly is a lazybones."
"So it seems. It makes me doubt if he's really a man and not an animal."
I recognized that lovely voice and that other sharp voice.
They were my friends. Airi and Alisa.
I opened my eyes to look at them, and they had their heads blocking the light and staring at me intently with two smiles.
"Sorry for being lazy and not seeming human."
The girls responded in order to my vague reply.
"If Rudel-san were a cat, your laziness would be cute."
"At least have some hard training, then I'd forgive you for lying in the middle of the garden path."
I made a face of anguish at their honest answers. Before I could ask them what they needed from me, they beat me to it.
"More importantly, we came here so you'd invite us to eat an ice cream cone. A new shop opened, and they say they're delicious," said Alisa, extending her hand toward me.
"That's right. We came so Rudel-san would be our personal knight. Oh, you wouldn't let two defenseless ladies walk around alone, would you?" exclaimed Airi, smiling and extending her hand to me.
Only a few seconds passed, but the sight of these two cheerful girls giving me a hand to get up made me think about how fortunate I am at this moment—no. How fortunate I am in this life.
A weird, but happy family.
A personal machine that gives me money and spoils me.
And finally, two girls from two worlds totally different from mine.
It made me think that we are a strange triangle united by fate, since that same fate made me reincarnate in a new world with a new life.
I took their hands and, standing up, spoke to them with a smile that showed my confidence.
"It can't be helped~. So I, the newly appointed low-ranking knight, Rudel van Bradford, will be your personal escort."
"Don't even think that a single cone will fill me."
"Hoo~? Want to make it a competition?" said Alisa, smiling.
"If you're going to compete, then I won't lose to you!!" Airi affirmed, using her hands as fists.
With that said, we set off for the ice cream shop.
I truly am fortunate in my new life, in a world of fantasy.
_________________________________
End of the Academy Arc, Mini Inter-School Duel Arc, and Volume 1.